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Halftime Report
Illinois State is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have jumped out to a quick 33-25 lead against Murray State.
If Illinois State keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 9-5 in no time. On the other hand, Murray State will have to make due with a 7-7 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Illinois State Redbirds @ Murray State Racers
Current Records: Illinois State 8-5, Murray State 7-6
How To Watch
What to Know
After five games on the road, Murray State is heading back home. They and the Illinois State Redbirds will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at CFSB Center. Coming in fresh off a victory as the underdog, the Racers will stroll into this one as the favorite.
Having struggled with four losses in a row, Murray State finally turned things around against Loyola Chi. last Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 71-68 win over the Ramblers.
Among those leading the charge was KyeRon Lindsay, who went 5 for 8 en route to 16 points plus five rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Illinois State last Sunday, but the final result did not. They fell 73-67 to UIC. The Redbirds were up 14-2 in the first but couldn’t hold on to the lead.
The losing side was boosted by Malachi Poindexter, who had 20 points. He had some trouble finding his footing against Cornell last Sunday, so this was a nice turnaround.
Murray State now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Illinois State, their defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 8-5.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Murray State hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.8 points per game. However, it’s not like Illinois State struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 79.1. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Murray State couldn’t quite finish off Illinois State when the teams last played back in January of 2024 and fell 61-59. Can Murray State avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Murray State is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Illinois State, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Racers as a 6.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 138.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Murray State has won 6 out of their last 9 games against Illinois State.
- Jan 30, 2024 – Illinois State 61 vs. Murray State 59
- Dec 03, 2023 – Illinois State 76 vs. Murray State 72
- Feb 15, 2023 – Murray State 76 vs. Illinois State 75
- Dec 01, 2022 – Murray State 70 vs. Illinois State 67
- Nov 16, 2021 – Murray State 77 vs. Illinois State 65
- Dec 05, 2020 – Murray State 76 vs. Illinois State 65
- Dec 09, 2017 – Murray State 78 vs. Illinois State 72
- Nov 11, 2016 – Murray State 73 vs. Illinois State 70
- Dec 13, 2015 – Illinois State 63 vs. Murray State 61
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